“People with disabilities are entitled to human rights and equal lives”

Equal World youth champion James Casserly recently attended the Global Disability Summit in Berlin, speaking at side-events and with decision-makers about the importance of disability inclusive development.

“My hopes for the outcomes of the Global Disability Summit were really clear going in. I wanted world leaders to come with open ears, to take what we say and put this into action in their countries and governments. I wanted them to give funding towards people with disabilities too.

“I was looking forward to hearing how different countries do different things. Hopefully, we can learn from other people, other countries, other world leaders and from meeting people from around the world.

“When I got there, the experience was really good. I was busy for the duration. I was networking and learning a lot from people from other parts of the globe and from people with different disabilities who work with other organisations. It was great meeting so many people!

“One moment that stood out to me was seeing the King of Jordan speak. He really impressed me because he’s passionate about disability rights and people living equal lives. 

“We also had our own Sightsavers side event about youth leadership. During this, I spoke about the importance of including young people with disabilities at all levels and in all stages of decision-making processes. It went really well.

“I also had the opportunity to meet ministers such as Hildegarde Naughton, Irish minister of state at the Department of Children, Equality, Disability, Integration and Youth, and we had an interesting conversation. I hope we can work together and make a positive change for people with disabilities in Ireland.

“There are lots of takeaways from the summit. But the big one? Actions speak louder than words. It will be interesting to see if the leaders and people with power put their words into action and use the recommendations that people with disabilities gave to make a better world for people with disabilities.

“As I said at GDS: ‘We must have the opportunity to be at events, at summits, in decision-making spaces, because at this moment we are not able to.’ We need to have young people with disabilities actively participating and at the table at every stage of decision-making processes – to give our knowledge, share our experience and fight for our future.

“People with disabilities, we are entitled to our human rights, and to equal lives and to live up to our full potential.

“That’s why I keep saying it: actions speak louder than words.”